For her forthcoming new album, The Sirens (due on October 22), Holly Conlan shed any previous fears about how best to define herself as a musical artist. "I let go of being afraid of being considered pop," the singer-songwriter told ELLE.com. "Because although there might be a lot of tragically empty pop music out there, there's also a lot of smartly written pop music. And there's room for more."

The Sirens' standout cut is "X Marks The Spot," a rock-influenced take on love's wicked games, splayed with loud guitars and equally vibrant drums. You can listen to the track exclusively below.

Conlan described the song as: "a fun and sexy take on when you have that magical and unspoken connection with someone. There's that tension that you're both aware of but you're not allowed to talk about. This song is when you finally say, 'The hell with it. Let's do this. Let's rock the boat!'"

She first appeared on the national stage with her 2007 Bird EP, and then further increased her profile after joining friend Sara Bareilles on a 2010 national tour. "She has such loving and fanatic fans that they came in with an open mind," Conlan said of the tour. "I felt like, 'Okay, I can be me and these people are going to give me a chance.'"

Conlan relied on her fans even more for The Sirens: The singer started a Kickstarter campaign to help finance the album, and she ended up raising over $15,000. "I felt a little funny about inviting people into that process," she admitted. "But I eventually realized that's the way it works now. You kind of have to be an open book."